contemporary american theater festival ......the actual response rate is higher since festival...

SEPTEMBER 2018

CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN THEATER FESTIVAL CUSTOMER STUDY

Prepared By: SHUGOLL RESEARCH 7475 Wisconsin Ave.

Suite 200 Bethesda, MD 20814

Prepared for: CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN

THEATER FESTIVAL 5515 Security Lane

P.O Box 429 Shepherdstown, WV 25443

Table Of Contents

Section Page

BACKGROUND AND METHODOLOGY 1

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 10

SURVEY FINDINGS 15

FOCUS GROUP FINDINGS BY OBJECTIVE 20

Objective 1: Determine The Image Of CATF 21

Objective 2: Assess Satisfaction With CATF 25

Objective 3: Evaluate Reactions To Ticket Pricing 35

Objective 4: Identify Awareness Of Enrichment Events 38

Objective 5: Determine Reactions To The Shepherdstown Setting 40

Objective 6: Evaluate Reactions To Lodging Options 43

Objective 7: Assess Reactions To Attending Plays At Other Times Of The Year 46

Objective 8: Investigate Interest In Donating To CATF 49

APPENDIX A: FOCUS GROUP RESPONDENT PROFILE A-1

BACKGROUND AND METHODOLOGY

Background

2

Contemporary American Theater Festival contracted with Shugoll Research to assess the economic impact of the Festival (reported under separate cover).

Shugoll Research added two additional customer satisfaction questions to the economic impact survey and conducted two pre-show focus groups with audience members to give management feedback from the audience’s perspective.

Methodology

3

The economic impact study used a proprietary methodology developed by Americans for the Arts.

The economic impact survey was self-administered onsite at the 2018 Festival.

Shugoll Research added a customer satisfaction battery to the survey as well as a Net Promoter Score question on likelihood to recommend the Festival to others.

In addition, two focus groups were held prior to performances so customers could discuss the Festival in an open-ended environment.

Survey Distribution/Collection

4

To encourage participation, a wrap was placed around programs describing why the research was being conducted and the importance of the data to CATF.

Completed surveys were collected by ushers or placed in clearly labeled collection boxes near the exits of each theater.

Surveys were completed either before a play, at intermission or after the play.

Pencils were affixed to the surveys to facilitate completion.

Questionnaires were randomly taped on seats at each performance after opening night for the duration of the Festival in the three CATF theaters:

50 per performance in the Frank Center and Marinoff Theater 35 per performance in Studio 112

Sample Size

5

A sample size of 1173 is accurate within +/-3% at a 95% confidence level.

Some surveys were dropped from the analysis because their expenditure data included outliers.

A total of 1173 were considered valid and included in the analysis.

The actual response rate is higher since Festival attenders were instructed to only complete the survey once per visit.

A weekend visitor seeing all six shows may have received the questionnaire multiple times, but was ineligible to complete it more than once, in essence raising the response rate among eligible audience members.

Approximately 4800 questionnaires were distributed and 1218 received for a true response rate of 25%.

Focus Groups

6

Each group was 1 hour. A total of 24 people participated in the focus groups.

The groups were held on 7/11 at 4:30pm and 7/21 at 10:30am.

They were intentionally scheduled to be early and late in the Festival, and before a matinee and evening performance, since audiences at these times may differ.

Only one person in a ticketed party could attend the focus groups. That person received a $50 honorarium.

Others in their party were invited, along with the focus group participant, to dine as Festival guests before the group and play at the focus group site.

CATF sent email invitations to people attending the performance immediately following a scheduled focus group to see if they wanted to participate. The email included a link to a

screener for those interested in attending to see if they qualified.

Focus Group Screening Criteria

7

Focus group respondents represented a mix of the following criteria:

Whether they live in West Virginia or

elsewhere

Number of shows they are seeing at

CATF

Whether they are a donor or not

Age

Race

(A summary of demographic information for all focus group respondents appears in the appendix.)

Focus Group Objectives

8

The objectives of the focus groups were to:

Determine The Image Of CATF

Assess Satisfaction With CATF

Evaluate Reactions To Ticket Pricing

Identify Awareness Of Enrichment Events

Determine Reactions To The Shepherdstown Setting

Evaluate Reactions To Lodging Options

Assess Reactions To Attending Plays At Other Times Of The Year

Investigate Interest In Donating To CATF

Report

9

The economic impact study results were submitted under separate cover.

This report includes the results of the quantitative customer satisfaction battery and summary of focus group findings.

Verbatims from the focus groups are included to capture some of the flavor of the sessions.

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

10

Customer satisfaction with CATF is very high, putting it in an “industry leader” category on 12 of the 19 attributes measured. Its Net Promoter Score, which measures likeliness to recommend the Festival to a Friend, is in the “world class” category. These results should be shared with all staff so they see that their efforts are greatly appreciated by customers.

The satisfaction categories where it is considered “industry leader” cross over between important areas such as quality of the work, communications, service, and value for the price. These areas can be used as lead messaging in marketing. Specific industry leader areas of customer satisfaction include: overall customer satisfaction, customer service from Festival staff, quality of the acting, production quality, ease of purchasing tickets, Festival playbill, materials received about the new season, being able to find information they need on the website, accessibility of venues, value for the money, performance scheduling and enrichment events.

Conclusions And Recommendations

11

1)

2)

Price is rated excellent and just misses the industry leader category. Given this, and the fact that value for the price is rated industry leader, there appears to be room to increase prices without significant loss of audience. To further reduce risk, we recommend conducting a formal pricing analysis before raising prices unless the increase is small. Since some have already noticed recent price increases, the qualitative research suggests that additional increases run the risk of forcing a small segment of the audience to cut back on the number of shows they see each year.

3)

The Festival is unique in that it fosters a sense of community among those attending multiple plays. There is a collegiality between attenders as they share in a common experience. This could also be a unique positioning in marketing the Festival.

4)

Conclusions And Recommendations (Cont’d)

12

The small town location of the Festival is also seen as a plus. Many describe their days at CATF as a vacation because they take advantage of local shopping and restaurants, nearby civil war battlefields, kayaking and whitewater rafting, and more. This is another marketing opportunity (“Come vacation with us”). The biggest limitation of the small town location is the limited number of lodging opportunities, particularly 4-star hotels. There is only moderate satisfaction with existing options and it is often difficult to find vacancies. If feasible, perhaps the Festival might ask customers if they would be interested in staying in on campus housing.

5)

The primary image of the Festival is that it produces provocative, thought-provoking and adventurous work. This again is a positioning niche that can be a source of differentiation from other summer festivals that often offer lighter fare.

6)

There also is a level of trust that the Festival will choose interesting work worth trying even if you don’t know the playwright. This is an attribute that any theater doing new work would want but rarely achieves. This trust in the artistic team results in theater-goers returning year after year.

7)

Given the image of the Festival among current audiences, it might be able to attract a national audience among theater professionals by offering a “Theater Professionals Weekend” much like the Humana Festival, with some special events targeted at this audience.

8)


13

Some theatergoers report difficulty in getting tickets to plays in the small Studio 112 space. This ticket shortage might be leveraged to promote sales of packages that guarantee admission to the most sought after plays and smallest spaces which often sell out.

9)

Given the high satisfaction levels, future research for CATF might focus on why lapsed attenders no longer come to the Festival and what can interest theatergoers (particularly in the DC area given their easy access to the Festival) who have not ever attended to try the Festival.

10)

More research needs to be conducted on the attractiveness of performing at other times of the year. Focus group respondents have moderate interest, but say the trip would only be worthwhile if there is more than one show running. The December timeframe tested was not popular since people are busy doing holiday planning and can see plenty of shows in their hometowns during this time.

11)

There was brief discussion of what might motivate giving to the Festival. The strong sense of community and satisfaction has CATF well positioned to make asks. But it must develop an appealing development positioning first. None came out of the focus groups although several people said it is important to communicate why the Festival needs the resources and what they plan to do with them. If it doesn’t do so already, it might ask customers to round up their ticket price with the balance as a donation.

12)


14

The research suggests several areas that could improve the already positive CATF experience. This includes the following:

• Improved concessions and merchandise on site

• Adding an on-site café for quick meals between shows when there is not enough time to go downtown for a full meal

• Having regular post-show discussions so audience members can share views on a play with each other (and possibly some of the artists)--these would be particularly appealing if held in a location where beer and wine would be available rather than in the theater

• Revamping “Breakfast with Ed” which is a great concept but has developed a certain sameness according to participants over the years

• Attempting to release a calendar of enrichment events earlier so that playgoers can more easily build them into their schedule

• Increasing the visibility of enrichment events as many don’t know specifically what these events are

• Additional development of plays before main stage production as some say the play quality varies significantly within a Festival and some feel content is more important than quality in why plays are selected

• The plays are continually described as political or issue-oriented; some would like at least one comedy or lighter play in each Festival as continually offering thought-provoking work can lead to “brain overload” among those seeing all the plays in a season

13)

SURVEY FINDINGS

15

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100 96 96 95 95

90 90

Per

cen

t

16

Satisfaction With Various Attributes Of The Contemporary American Theater Festival (Top 2 Box)

Attendees (n=1173)

Overall quality of

the acting

Customer service from

the Festival’s Staff

Q.11: Rate your level of satisfaction with the Contemporary American Theater Festival in each of the areas listed below.

Base: All respondents answering (excluding “don’t know” responses).

Note: Percentages represent a score of “6” or “7” on a scale where 7 equals “Extremely Satisfied” and 1 equals “Not At All Satisfied.”

Overall satisfaction Theater Festival

playbill

(the program)

Given the amount of research conducted with arts organizations, Shugoll Research can norm satisfaction results: when 80% or more give a score of 6 or 7 on the 7-point satisfactions scale, an organization is considered an industry leader; 70%-79% is excellent; 60%-69% is good; less than 60% are areas for improvement. CATF is rated industry leader in an exceptional 12 of the 19 categories measured. This includes overall satisfaction as well as quality of the acting, customer service from staff, production quality, Festival's printed program and accessibility of venues.

CATF is rated highly on all these top-rated factors regardless of residence, years attending CATF, age, education or income.

Production quality

(scenery, lighting,

costumes, sound, etc..)

(continued on next page)

Industry Leader

Accessibility of

the venues


0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

88 88 87 87

85 82

Per

cen

t

17

Attendees (n=1173)

Scheduling of

performances

(performance times)

Materials I receive telling

me about the new season-

Pre-season Festival Guide




Being able to find the

information I need on

the Theater Festival’s

website

CATF is also rated industry leader on value for the money, performance times, materials about the new season (pre-season Festival Guide), ease of purchasing tickets, being able to find the information they need on the website and enrichment events including opportunities to discuss plays, the lecture series and the CATF in Context series.

Ease of purchasing

tickets

Industry Leader

Again, there are no major subgroup differences.

Enrichment events

(opportunities to discuss

plays, lecture series, CATF

in Context series)

Satisfaction With Various Attributes Of The Contemporary American Theater Festival (Top 2 Box, Cont’d)

Value for the money

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

79 79 74

68

62

56 51

Per

cen

t

18

Attendees (n=1173)

Ticket price Dining options

in the area




Lodging

options in area Concessions on

site

Ticket price is rated excellent. This is rare in the arts and suggests there may be room to raise prices without loss of customers (although ideally a specific pricing study should be done first). The Festival is also rated excellent on its onsite signage and dining options in the area. CATF is rated good on other sights and activities in the area (not affiliated with the Festival) and lodging options in the area (although it is on the margin between good and needs improvement (62%). It is rated needs improvement in two areas: merchandise for sale and concessions on site.

Other sights, activities

and events in the area

(not affiliated with the

Festival)

Needs Improvement Excellent


Those travelling from out of town rate dining options, lodging options and other sights in the area lower than local residents.

Merchandise for

sale

Good

Onsite signage

Satisfaction With Various Attributes Of The Contemporary American Theater Festival (Top 2 Box, Cont’d)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

78.71

12.72

5.62 1.01 0.65 0.83 0.09 0.09 0 0.28 0

Per

cent

19

Not At All Likely

10

Very Likely to Recommend

91.5 %

Less Likely to Recommend

1.9 %

The study included a Net Promoter Score (NPS), a standard measure of customer intent to recommend a product or service. It is measured on a 0-10 scale where those responding 9-10 are considered promoters (over 91% for CATF), 7-8 are called passive (under 7%), and 0-6 are detractors (less than 2%). Subtracting detractors from promoters yields the NPS which can range from -100 to +100 with scores of 1-49 considered good, 50-69 excellent and 70 or more world class. CATF received a Net Promoter Score of 89.6, in the world class category.

Extremely Likely

Likelihood Of Recommending The Contemporary American Theater Festival

Attendees (n=1173)

Q.12: How likely are you to recommend the Contemporary American Theater Festival to a friend?

Base: All respondents randomly selected who attended festival.

9 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 8

Net Promoter Score: 89.6

Detractors Promoters Passive

CATF earns a Net Promoter Score in the world class category from all subgroups.

FOCUS GROUP FINDINGS BY OBJECTIVE

20

21

Objective 1: Determine The Image Of CATF

22

Image Of CATF

Primary Image:

CATF performs provocative, thought-provoking and adventurous work.

Consistent with the high customer satisfaction found in the survey, focus group respondents describe the image of CATF in very positive

terms.

23

Image Of CATF

When asked for one word to describe the Festival, only positive images are given:

Provocative

Thought-provoking

Adventurous

Inventive

Interesting Vibrant Compelling

Excellent Welcome Masterful

Impressive

Innovative

Current

Contemporary

Professional

Fantastic

24

Image Of CATF (Verbatims)

“‘Provocative’ because the plays are dealing with

contemporary issues and they aren’t one-sided. They present multiple perspectives, and they

really get me to think about issues in different ways.”

“There are a lot of different views in the plays, so you get to see a different view than perhaps you run into in your

normal day-to-day life.”

“A week after the show, even if I didn’t like it, I’m

still talking about it.”

“I said ‘adventurous’ because I think he tries a lot of things

and is not afraid to try different areas.”

“Because they provide an outlet for young

playwrights and premiers by older

playwrights. So, I like the idea of giving a stage for premier original scripts. I

think it’s uncommon.”

“‘Professional’ because the sets are amazing, the acting is outstanding. Just every little detail has been thoroughly thought out. It’s very high

level production.”

“It’s very welcome to have a theater festival presentation of so many different plays, and a very welcome addition to the community and the surroundings. It also

has a welcoming kind of spirit here.”

25

Objective 2: Assess Satisfaction With CATF

26

Overall Satisfaction With CATF

As a result, many return annually regardless of the plays or playwrights.

They trust the Festival and its Artistic Director (most know Ed Herendeen by

name) to choose strong plays.

Consistent with the survey findings and the focus group image data, focus group respondents are very satisfied with CATF.

“Trust. I think it’s a trust issue that Ed will pick plays that will be all of those things that we wrote down

when describing CATF’s image. So I return each year.”

27

Like Best About CATF

Like Best About CATF:

Programming is timely

Transformative/ provocative work/

leave altered in thought

High quality of work

Diversity in casting

Small town setting

Great customer service

Ability to learn about the plays at

talkbacks and other special

events

Intimacy of two of the three theaters

Feel part of a theatergoing

community sharing a common experience

Seeing actors in more than one role

Materials provided (preseason Festival Guide, programs)

Diversity in playwrights

(by gender and race)

Enjoy the gallery/ artist opportunities

associated with the Festival

28

Like Best About CATF (Verbatims)

“I feel like I always leave altered in thought when I come to the Festival.

Although they give you all these different vantage points in looking at

the issues, I think there is an underlying agenda that the playwright

is giving you and it tends to alter the way you look at things.”

“The reason I travel here is because I just get

mindless entertainment where I live. I like to

come somewhere where I can think and

experience something transformative.”

“It’s not fluff. It’s not thoughtless entertainment. It’s always

interesting and engrossing.”

“I like its professionalism because you’re not having to go to New York, but you have the best theater right

here that’s totally professional with

everything from the lighting to the costume design. Everything is

coming together to give you an intimacy of impact

and believability.”

“I like the quality. I never have a bad experience and I’m always delightfully surprised, if not utterly blown away by

the performances.”

“You’re in the mountains and it’s different for people that are not

from this area. You’re in this protected valley where you step

outside of your normal sense of life.”

“I like the location in Shepherdstown. I like the little town. I like

some of the restaurants. It’s just

quaint and fun.”

“The box office staff is one of the things that’s awesome about the

plays. The service is unbelievable.”

“They get raves for the box office treatment. When we buy group tickets, they give us the same schedule and group our seats

together. It’s seamless. They’re awesome about it. It’s easy peasy.”

29

Like Best About CATF (Verbatims)

“I like the small audience and the fact that you have a dialogue with

other participants. When you’re leaving the show or at the talk

backs, there are opportunities to discuss the content of the plays.”

“Over the course of the weekend, you feel like

you’re part of this theatergoing community.

There is this sense that we’re all in this together.

And even as you’re walking through the town,

you see people that you remember from the

audience, and sometimes you see the actors. It’s like

this whole event is happening with everyone.”

“The program is just terrific, just full of

information.”

“I love seeing actors in more than one role. It

just reinforces the magic of the theater.”

“I think they do a good job in the program of not only describing the play, but then they also interview the

playwright. I like to read the entire thing and get a feel for what the playwright was trying to accomplish, what their background is. And then, looking at the

play and the content to see what the play is about.”

“It is inclusive because Ed has had more women playwrights produced where many times

women are not given an opportunity.”

“Seems to be a great diversity relative to subject matter,

relative to casting, relative to age and gender of playwrights.”

30

Areas For Improvement

Plays

• Plays continually too political

• Sometimes plays seem chosen for their political content, not necessarily their quality

• Many plays with strong “negative” content (including gratuitous violence)

• Historically, plays have not been consistent in quality (although they seem to be getting better)

• Some plays seem unfinished/not ready for a full production

Despite their high satisfaction, there are many suggestions for improving the Festival further including:

Ticketing

• Hard to get tickets to small Studio 112 space

• Want more variety in ticket packages

• Tickets becoming more expensive

31


Enrichment Events

• Would like more enrichment events

• Would like more interaction with other artists besides Artistic Director

• Breakfast with Ed tends to repeat the same ideas each time

• Would like more opportunities to talk with other audience members about an individual play in an informal setting (enrichment events don’t allow reaction to individual plays so as not to spoil them for those who haven’t seen them)

• Earlier announcement of enrichment events so they can be more easily scheduled by attenders

Festival Length/ Scheduling

• Festival run is short in length making it hard to see everything

• If try to fit all plays in a weekend can be tiring with “brain overload”

• 8:30 is a little late to start plays, especially for more serious shows

32


Audience

• Audience is old

• Would like more efforts to attract a younger audience

Lodging Options

• Hotels not of highest quality

• Can be difficult to get hotel rooms

Food & Drink

• Should be a quick food option on site for between shows (café with sandwiches and salads)

33

Areas For Improvement (Verbatims)

“Maybe if they could have more comedy. There are a lot

of issue-based plays.”

“Sometimes the issue seems to be driving the play, but the

narrative and the characters are not as strong.”

“In the past it seemed like the writing needed to be tightened

up or they needed more rehearsals. It seems to have

gotten better over the years.”

“I’ve done Breakfast with Ed four years in a row and I’m not doing it this year because I found over the last four years Breakfast with Ed

was always the same, and I wasn’t really getting the insights I had

hoped to get out of that.”

“At Breakfast with Ed there is very little opportunity to ask

questions. There is no opportunity at all to really

discuss any of the plays because of the spoiler issue. I

just felt that there wasn’t much substance.”

“It would be so much fun to be sitting in a room with people who have seen a certain play and really take a deep

dive so you can get different perspectives on what people thought, what they learned from the play, what

they liked and didn’t like.’”

“I was wishing there was an opportunity to meet with people and go over and talk about what we just went through, because it was very

provocative and I wanted to linger and just chat with people. But, everything

was shut down. You know, I didn’t want a drink going in, I wanted one

coming out and to chat with people.”

“I got an email yesterday at five o’clock there was six o’clock of some presentation or something. That’s the first time I got it. I was really happy I got it, but I wished I had gotten it

earlier than that.”

“I just thought it was a play that wasn’t quite ready for prime time. And I say that knowing how important it is

for a playwright to have their work processed, and that process is really important, so I'm not belittling that. But it wasn’t great, and yet, other

things made it so I'm back because I believe in what these folks do.”

34

Areas For Improvement (Verbatims)

“I wonder what the economics would be of making the festival a

little longer so that you could have more opportunities, especially in

this small of space which gets, what, a third of all the plays, so that more people could get in.”

“At the end of the weekend, my head is full. Six plays is a

lot to do.”

“I don’t like how Studio 112 sells out a lot, so there needs to be more scheduled

performances of the plays in that.”

“If it’s a wish, I guess my suggestion is they reduce their package thing, like do three to

six instead of four for six.”

“I didn’t see any young people. It’s a

homogeneous audience; they need to branch out into some other areas that would draw in the

younger adults.”

“There have been some cost increases over the years, and it’s hard to get hotel

rooms, and the ticket prices have gone up quite a bit. So young people are not going

to be able to afford the weekend in West Virginia.”

“If there could be an arrangement that you have an option to have a meal quick

between shows, that would be helpful because sometimes managing your time between shows and trying to get a bit to

eat is challenging.”

“They shouldn’t put the heavy thought pieces as the 8:30 show, they should put

the lively ones later.”

35

Objective 3: Evaluate Reactions To Ticket Pricing

Consistent with the quantitative data, most describe ticket prices as reasonable and fair.

36

Reactions To Pricing

“It’s a bargain.”

“Fair and reasonable, but

then I live in town, so the housing is cheaper, right?”

“Reasonable, but then really fair because of the

options”

“It gives many individuals an opportunity to come, because he makes it available so you can pay what you can, with discounts for

students, discounts for senior citizens. So, it’s casting a broad

blanket for this opportunity.”

A minority view (seemingly expressed by local audience members rather than those from out of town including DC) is that tickets are either getting expensive, high for West Virginia or higher than they’d like.

“If you look at other regional theater festivals, the cost is pretty high for

West Virginia.”

“Well, that’s my dislike. There has been some cost increases over the years that I’ve been

coming. The ticket prices have gone up quite a bit.”

While noting that prices have risen, there does not seem to be price resistance to future incremental increases.

37

Reactions To Pricing

“I pay more at other venues

now.”

“I would probably come, but if it were

more expensive I would probably

only stay one night at a hotel compared

to two.”

Most would continue to attend if that happened, although some might cut back on the number of plays

they see at the Festival.

38

Objective 4: Identify Awareness Of Enrichment Events

39

Awareness Of Enrichment Events

Some say these events are announced too late, after they’ve already chosen their plays and dates, so they can’t fit them

into their schedule.

But many don’t know specifically what they are and when they happen.

Most are aware there are various supplementary events besides the plays. “I remember looking through

the catalog and being excited because of the

quality of their events. I got excited but then I wasn’t able to make it happen.”

“I think some things are added to the calendar as you get into

the season. They’re not all nailed down at the start. You know, there is a chance to do

this or to do that. I mean I think they have some of it, but you’ve got to get the emails as

things develop.”

40

Objective 5: Determine Reactions To The Shepherdstown Setting

41

Reactions To Shepherdstown Setting

Almost all love the small town setting in Shepherdstown.

“I really love Shepherdstown and the longer I’ve come, the more I’ve found to do here.”

“I find it really charming and realize that walking around downtown.”

They incorporate the town into their visit, shopping and eating at the local restaurants.

“I like walking around downtown and of course, I eat at the restaurants.”

“The farmer’s market is a place where we eat. I like that. It’s pretty good for

a small town.”

Some take advantage of the recreational opportunities (hiking on the canal towpath, kayaking down the river, swimming, visiting historic sites).

“Whenever I bring someone new, I take them around and show them the mill

and the monument and do all of that sort of stuff. It’s

just enjoyable.”

“There is kayaking. There is the river

here. There is Harpers Ferry and

Antietam.”

“I really love Shepherdstown and the longer I’ve come, the more I’ve found to do here.

This is really a great place for hiking, biking, and kayaking. The first couple of

years I came I didn’t do any of those things. And now, I just kind of pack it all in.”

42

Reactions To Shepherdstown Setting

Those who come for multiple days from out of town see the Festival and its setting as a vacation.

There is little interest in a shuttle service from the Festival to downtown. Many like to walk or say parking is readily available so a shuttle is not really necessary.

“I like to walk.” “Is there one from the Clarion Hotel? That might make sense.”

“There is plenty of parking.”

“It’s a vacation for us.”

43

Objective 6: Evaluate Reactions To Lodging Options

The biggest concern about the small town setting seems to be hotel quality and availability. They say it is hard to get in anywhere without booking well in advance.

44

Reactions To Lodging Options

“The hotels are hard to find; there are not a lot and they sell out really fast.”

“I stay at the Bavarian Inn. It really wouldn’t be my first choice because

it’s not the best managed place. It wouldn’t be my

first choice, but there just aren’t many choices.”

Some like the Bavarian Inn for its convenient location, but talk

about mediocre service and poor rooms.

Some prefer the Clarion Hotel, but say it’s getting

harder to get into since rooms are set aside for Federal government functions.

The Quality Inn is an option, but not highly favored.

“I would prefer to stay at the Clarion, but some government agency or something

was doing something there.”

“We usually stay at the Clarion Conference Center. When we went to make

reservations back in March they said they were sold out because they were holding

for a government group, because they were training for something.”

“I had to stay at the Quality Inn, which

is just so-so.”

This year there was a particular problem finding hotel vacancies due to rooms held for federal workers, which meant that some had to stay in another town, something they’d rather not do.

45

Reactions To Lodging Options

“We made reservations at the Quality Inn. Well, a week before our tickets, that hotel called and said it had been sold out to a government group, and so we’re moving you into a hotel in

Kearneysville, which has a Quality Inn as well. And, it’s not a nice hotel. And it’s not where we wanted to be. And we like being able

to walk everywhere. So, we’ve been doing a lot more driving.”

A few have had luck with rooms through Airbnb. One person notes that Airbnb is illegal in Jefferson County, although some list rooms through the service anyway.

“My group has had very good luck in the last few years with a couple of Airbnb

houses. There are a couple of houses that can accommodate that we have found, but a couple different ones for different years,

for three, four, five people.”

“One thing people should be aware of in regard to Airbnb is that it is not allowed in Shepherdstown proper. There are a few people who do it

illegally. In Jefferson County you can do Airbnb, but not in Shepherdstown.”

46

Objective 7: Assess Reactions To Attending Plays At Other Times Of The Year

47

Reactions To Attending Plays At Other Times Of The Year

There is interest among some in attending plays at other times of the year.

“I just can’t get enough of a good thing. I would come. I don’t know if I would come for a similar performance, but if there was something like a smaller festival with two-four plays, I definitely

would come.”

Others see plays in their hometown year-round and are not inclined to come back after the summer.

“I would not come. First of all, I just can’t see how they could do it. But second of all, I would be

going to theater in DC.”

“I said yes because I support an organization trying to provide more

opportunities for people in the region, in the

immediate area to see good theater.”

“I would definitely come because I do theater festivals, like Oregon

Shakespeare, Alabama Shakespeare, and I do it just based on the plays, and if I like the plays, I’ll

travel.”

“Other times we’ve got plays we can see all over the DC area, so we

don’t need to come here then. We’ve got quality down there.”

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Reactions To Attending Plays At Other Times Of The Year

To make the trip from out of town worthwhile, there would need to be more than one play offered at any time.

“From Baltimore, it’s a little far to come for one play.”

December is not a preferred time to see other plays at CATF. People say they are just too busy or have weather concerns.

“I’d come for a weekend with at least two plays, but not for only one play.”

“It’s a really busy time.” “Really erratic weather.” “Too many things happen in

December.”

If they attended plays during the year it would not impact their willingness to return for the summer Festival.

49

Objective 8: Investigate Interest In Donating To CATF

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Interest In Donating To CATF

Most, but not all, realize CATF is non-profit and needs contributed income.

To consider making a gift, CATF must create messaging that better explains the need for donations and how the money would be used.

“I would give if I knew the money was going to students, theater students or students of color to come to the festival.”

“I would need to know the value proposition and the justification or the need for more giving. What would it be or allow us to selfishly experience that we’re not currently experiencing or, to prevent something from deteriorating? I think there needs to be a value proposition for the giver,

because you’ve all got the positives.”

If not done already, asking donors to round up their ticket price as a donation might be worthwhile.

“I would round up the tickets to the next hundred dollars as a donation.”

Some don’t have the resources to donate but would consider volunteering time to the Festival.

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Interest In Donating To CATF

“As a local person, and as a person of a co-housing group that’s going to be bringing in another 60 people of my age over the course of the next year, I don’t feel like I can do a whole lot of donating, but if there were ways to work us in and have us do more volunteering

or become part of it, I think that would be really welcomed. I mean I do want to contribute, but I feel

like I'm just always being asked for money. And I know I'm local and I know that they need money, but make

another option. I would step up and help.”

A-1

Appendix A: Focus Group Respondent Profile

A-2

Focus Group Respondent Profile

Total

Age (n=24)

45 to 54 1

55 to 64 8

65 to 74 12

75 or older 3

Donate To CATF (n=24)

Yes 9

No 15

Residence (n=24)

West Virginia 7

Other State 17

Number Of Plays Attended During Festival (n=24)

2 plays 2

3 plays 3

4 plays 1

5 plays 1

6 plays 17

Ethnicity (n=23)

White 19

Black 3

Asian American 1

contemporary american theater festival ......the actual response rate is higher since festival...

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